Dating? Who Said That- Shhh It's A Secret
by allthingsavenger
Summary: From the first time Steve really smiles at him, Tony knows he doesn't stand a chance. Then Steve laughs and snorts orange juice up his nose at the breakfast table and Tony is hung up about that for a week.


From the first time Steve really smiles at him, Tony knows he doesn't stand a chance. Then Steve laughs and snorts orange juice up his nose at the breakfast table and Tony is hung up about that for a week.

It never really gets better because sometimes Steve just laughs and sometimes he dances funny and Tony is hung up about every single little thing all day, every day.

"I need a plan of attack," he tells Jarvis.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I did not realise you intended to act with aggression against Captain Rogers."

"I am going to re-code you."

He asks Bruce instead and the scientist gives him a mild-mannered shrug and says, "why don't you just ask him out on a date."

Tony fidgets and fumbles his way out of Bruce's lab and back down to the shop and lies on the couch for an hour until Steve finds him.

"What are you doing?" he asks Tony.

"Nothing," Tony says.

"Oh, okay," and he sits down on the couch, moving Tony's feet off.

Screw this, Tony thinks and says "wanna go out?"

"Sure," Steve says, putting down the sketchpad he just picked up. He scratches his head.

"Wait, now?"

"Uh, yeah now, sure, why not now?" Tony answers and scrambles off the couch, pushing his hair flat because he can see his reflection in the shop panels and he looks like a dishevelled porcupine. Steve gets up as well and scratches at the spot above his right temple.

"It's 9am, Tony," he says to Tony who "oh, well, lunch is versatile, we can have lunch at 9 o'clock, no one can stop us, we're adults, we can have lunch whenever we want to have lunch and I am up for lunch right now."

Tony hovers until Steve says, "are you going out in that?" and then he looks down over his torn jeans, his ratty t-shirt and the grease painted on his forearms.

"Right, yeah okay, I'm going to shower and then we can go out- uh, together," he clarifies and turns to leave.

"Um," he says, turning back around and pointing at Steve, "ah, you just- um, wait. There. I'll be back."

Tony showers in record time and slides into his walk-in closet still drying himself.

"Clothes," he says aloud.

"Yes, that is what you appear to be seeing indeed," Jarvis answers.  
"Shh," Tony shushes and picks out a crimson pressed shirt before putting it back and yanking a star wars t-shirt over his head instead. He plays tug-o-war with his jeans in an attempt to go "quick fast, Stark, don't have all date to change, haha," and almost crashes head-first into the row of neatly sorted shirts and jackets not once, but twice.

Steve is standing right where Tony left him and he gives Tony an alarmed look when he falls out of the elevator still yanking his belt through the loops and almost trips over.

"I'm here, I'm clean, congratulations to me, ready, let's go, Steve," he says and barrels across the workshop to find his shoes. Steve holds them up when he can't find them and he takes them, pulling them on and tugging Steve along behind him and into the elevator by the wrist.

They eat burgers at a "rad joint which you can't step foot into unless you're at least half as cool as me, Tony Stark, model human being," and Steve laughs at that and Tony is pleased that he made Steve laugh because he likes the sound of Steve's laugh and then Tony's phone rings halfway through the meal and he baulks for a second because Pepper is calling him.

'Pepper is calling me,' he considers saying but then Steve would insist he pick up and then Pepper would insist he go to some conference full of conservative back-pedalling clowns so he silences it and stuffs it back in his pocket.

"Who was it?" Steve says.

"What, who was what?" Tony asks, burger halfway to his mouth.

"Who was calling you?"

"Oh," Tony says and then shrugs, "someone was calling me, right, yes, but it was unimportant, it is not important because I am in the middle of having lunch with you and that is important because- uh, because lunch is an important meal, duh."

"Okay, Tony," Steve says fondly and he smiles and Tony suddenly can't eat anything else because of the way his stupid internal organs do a back-flip so he puts down his burger and drinks his entire milkshake in one go.

Steve is probably used to him not eating anything and then coming out of the workshop like a starved bear and ingesting enough food and drink for five people so he doesn't bat an eye when Tony takes his milkshake and drinks it all as well.

When there's nothing left to drink Tony panics and starts talking a mile an hour about every single thing he can think of- his latest project, the upgrades to Steve's armour, the hole which appeared in the kitchen wall- that was Hulk's fault for the record and can't Clint just not provoke Bruce? Because seriously, the structural damage being done to the tower on a daily basis is frankly just ridiculous and he has things to invent, he doesn't have time for fixing walls, which isn't to mean he doesn't have time to have lunch with Steve, of course, he needs to eat lunch anyway, lunch is important and- did he already mention lunch is important, probably.

Steve just eats and then sits and smiles at Tony half fond, half exasperated which is just making Tony panic more, and finally he shoves the burger in his mouth so he'll stop talking.

"Might need to slow down a bit there," Steve agrees, leaning back against the booth and wait, why was he panicking in the first place again?

Oh right, because he asked Steve out on a date and the fact that they're on a date is really messing with his mind which is frankly stupid because Steve just thought they were going out for lunch like they normally do and he probably doesn't even know Tony was trying to ask him out on a date.

"This is cool, this is normal, we're cool aren't we?" he says and Steve opens his mouth to agree but Tony changes his mind before he can say anything and, "no, no wait, we're not just cool we're heaps awesome, we are awesome as hell because we live with a bunch of other superheroes in a giant tower and if people don't think that's cool they either need an IQ test or they can go stick it."

Tony shuts up through sheer force of will for just long enough to finish eating and then he throws some money at the waitress and pulls Steve out with him onto the street.

"So anyway, this has been really fun and you're just a super neat person, you know that, wait, what? I need a filter between my mouth and my brain, Steve, can you get me one for my birthday, whenever that is, but the point is let's go and uh, let's go to Coney Island," and he wants to smack himself because where the hell did that come from? But Steve just looks amused and half-smiles at him, "sure, Tony," and Tony beams.

Tony complains about every ride, shouting at Steve over the wind as their roller-coaster whizzes along- because come on, he can build a suit of armour which sustains flight and holds out under multiple tussles with the Hulk and these guys can't build a ride which will sustain his interest for longer than three seconds and Steve nods along absent-mindedly next to Tony as he holds the hand of a six year old who has her eyes squeezed shut in terror.

Tony talks his way through every ride on Coney Island and then through ice-cream and almost chokes trying to swallow and speak at the same time and by the time lunch-time rolls around Tony insists that they are going to go and eat breakfast because they are adults and they can do what they want and besides, breakfast shouldn't have a pre-determined time set for it.

When they get back to the tower it is late-afternoon and Tony is exhausted because he has talked all day and he even tried stopping but then his brain reminded itself that he was on a date with Steve Rogers and he feels like an idiot because Steve doesn't even know that was a date and why he is still panicking.

"Haha, you know me, I panic my way through everything, that's how I do it, because I am Tony Stark and no one can tell me that panicking my way through life is not the best way to do everything, shit, wait, what was I saying before I went off on this strange tangent-"

Steve shakes his head at some point and pats him on the arm complacently and Tony almost jumps out of his skin because he just thinks he's been talking to himself but Steve is still there, oh right.

Clint goes down to the workshop to tell them that they rest of the team are going to watch Wall-E and eat pizza and are they coming or what?

So they end up sprawled out on the huge couch with the rest of the team and the lights out watching Disney movies and Tony tries to shut up, he really does, and at least he keeps his voice down low enough so that only Steve can hear him but he can't really stop talking for long and he's still panicking about the not-date that he may or may not even still be on and he can tell Steve is only pretending to watch the movie because he's smiling and there's nothing remotely funny about what's happening on the screen, well okay maybe, futuristic robots and plants in boots but that's not the point, the point is, actually, that Tony is really tired so he slouches against Steve and whines.

"Hey dork," Steve says, turning around in the darkness to look at Tony and Tony gives him an imploring look in response.

"Maybe you should try not talking sometimes," he says quietly, leaning over so he won't disturb the others but he's smiling fondly so Tony's not entirely sure what that means and then Steve just keeps leaning over and kisses him and oh.

Oh, shit.

Error

Backup and reboot, Steve is kissing him.

Tony's not sure how to respond to that one but Steve tilts his chin up very gently and he kind-of kisses him back but he's too stunned to really do anything coherent with his brain.

And then Steve puts his arm around Tony and goes back to watching the movie. What the fuck?

"What?" he blurts out and Clint hisses, "shut up, Stark," like he is the scum of the earth.

"Shh," Steve says gently and lets Tony lean into his side. Tony is way, way, way too tired for this shit.

"What," he says again, quieter so Clint won't hiss at him again and Steve turns to kiss his nose.

"What's wrong, Tony?" he asks gently and Tony is so confused he sort of feels like maybe he's hallucinating.

"Did you just kiss me?" Tony says and Steve just smiles at him, patient, and "yes, I did."

"Do you do that to everyone?" Tony asks him, just to make sure, and Steve snorts quietly and pulls him closer.

"You're an idiot, Tony," he says. Tony fumbles for a moment and then blurts out, "are we dating?"

This time Steve turns around and frowns slightly as if he's the one that's confused by this question.

"I-" he starts and then scratches the back of his neck, "aren't we?"

"We are?" Tony says, trying to keep the eagerness out of his voice and fails miserably.

Steve frowns again.

"I thought we were dating, Tony. You take me out for lunch and dinner and breakfast and we spend all our free time together. You buy me ridiculous things, you fuss over me and you angst whenever I'm sad. You go out of your way to make sure I'm comfortable and you take me out to see Brooklyn and sometimes you hold my hand, so uh, yeah," another scratch behind his neck "I thought we were dating."

Tony is stunned for a moment and then, "wait, you think the things I buy you are ridiculous?"

Steve scratches the spot above his temple, "Tony, you bought me a toaster. We already have a toaster and a sandwich press but you insisted that this one has feelings and I need to hug it to make sure it's happy."

"You do, I gave it a personality" Tony grumbles but okay, Steve has a point. Maybe.

"Wait a minute," Steve starts, frowning slightly again and no, stop, Tony does not want him to frown or be sad and Steve says, "do you want to date me?"

Whoa, whoa, whoa, what the hell?

"What? Do I- yes of course I want to date you, I have been trying to ask you out on a date since god knows when but I've just failed miserably at anything resembling a sane approach to anything and jesus, I need to shut the hell up, but-" he catches Steves smiling fondly at him and duh, of course he is rambling yet again, "the point is yes, yes I want to date you, Steve Rogers."

Steve rolls his eyes affectionately and kisses him again and Tony decides right there that Steve Rogers is the only person he ever wants to kiss for the rest of his life.

Somewhere on the other side of the couch, Clint sniggers. Someone, probably Natasha, hits him with a pillow and, "ow."

Tony leans into Steve when they settle back to watch the rest of the movie and Steve drapes his arm around Tony's shoulders.

"So are we dating?" Tony whispers.

"We're dating, Tony."


End file.
